Cayce City Council calls special meeting
"Why do we want something that Columbia and Richland County turned down?" - Ron Vaughn
By Kristin Lavender kblavender@gmail.com

The Cayce City Hall chambers filled for the second time in just one week for a Special Council Meeting to discuss the proposed annexation of 3,113 acres of land in Richland County formerly known as Green Diamond.

Mayor Avery Wilkerson, Mayor Pro- Tem Rick Myers, Councilpersons James Jenkins, Kenneth Jumper, Robert Malpass, City Manager John Sharpe, City Attorney Danny Crowe, and Public Safety Chief Charles McNair were all in attendance at the 6 pm meeting.

Following the Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance, a motion was made by Malpass and seconded by Jumper for the Council to go into an executive session for the purpose of receiving legal advice relating to a potential claim and a number of other matters. The Council reconvened at 7:30 pm and called for Public Comment.

Residents of the City of Cayce expressed concerns about the upcoming vote regarding the annexation of floodprone land into the City of Cayce. Many people wore stickers that read: "Don't Annex Green Diamond. Keep Cayce Out of the Levee Business."

Cayce resident Alice Brooks warned the Council to "be careful of things that sound too good to be true," adding, "I don't really know which side I'm on." It seemed to be the consensus of those who attended last night's meeting this "11th hour" decision really showed the members of the Council were more concerned about a $13,000 tax benefit to the City of Cayce than what their constituents really wanted.

The Council voted on four ordinances Thursday night. The first regarded the approval of an ordinance to adopt revisions to the Land Use portion of the City of Cayce's Comprehensive Plan. Myers made a motion to approve the Comprehensive Plan. This motion was seconded by Malpass.

The final three ordinances regarded the annexation and zoning of property located on the East Side of the Congaree River, which has been divided into three parcels. The Cayce City Council voted 4- 1 to annex the acreage. Myers was the only member of the Council to vote in opposition of the annexation, expressing his concerns throughout the discussion of the ordinances. At the time that development is desirable, Council will vote again.

The property's owners made their presence known before residents of Cayce, thanking the Council for "promoting the vision to growth of the City of Cayce." Meanwhile, members continued to voice concerns. Ron Vaughn, when given the opportunity to address the Council, asked the members, "Why do we want something that Columbia and Richland County turned down?"

This vote occurred just two months after Cayce was approached by the limited liability corporation Columbia Venture, which owns the land. This short amount of time and what residents believe to be a lack of information or accurate knowledge regarding flood plain development, have seemingly affected the public opinion of this vote.